Hampshire County Sheriff's breakfast celebrates reentry program and all who participate

Photo by Diane Lederman | The RepublicanKyle Blake of Springfield addresses the more than 150 at the 9th Annual Reentry Breakfast Wednesday at the Hampshire County Jail and House of Correction. The inmate praised a dog training program for teaching him patience.

NORTHAMPTON -- Kyle Blake said his downfall was impatience: "I wanted things when I wanted them rather than waiting."

He wanted quick cash, so he sold crack cocaine -- and his impatience earned him a prison sentence.

Now an inmate at the Hampshire County Jail and House of Correction, Blake is learning much about patience through the jail's reentry program. When he gets out -- which he hopes is in two years when he’s eligible for parole -- he says he wants to be a family man. He has two daughters.

Blake, 32, of Springfield, spoke at the Hampshire County Sheriff’s Office 9th Annual Reentry Breakfast, an opportunity for the department to thank staff, state and local officials and community members for their help. The breakfast is also an opportunity to reiterate a commitment to help inmates reenter the community when their sentences are served.

“We are all in a partnership of reentry,” said Ronald Corbett, commissioner with the state Department of Probation.

Blake credits the program, particularly his work with a nine-month-old black lab named Carey, with helping him understand himself better.

“You have to be very patient,” he told the crowd of more than 150. He said he has learned the dog won’t do the right thing the first or second time. “You might have to do it 20 times to get it right.”

He has taught the dog myriad things, including moving left and right, to speak on command, and to show her belly.

Dogs are trained to provide help to people with disabilities including war veterans. Blake said he likes knowing "I'm helping someone else who needs the help." He plans to get another dog when he finishes his training with Carey in six months.

Photo by Diane Lederman | The RepublicanKyle Blake of Springfield and Carey, the nine-month-old black lab he is training to be a service dog while Blake is an inmate in the Hampshire County Jail and House of Correction.

The National Education for Assistance Dog Services program is just one of a handful of programs the jail offers inmates to help them prepare for life out of jail. Those in the ServSafe/Culinary Arts program, for example prepared the breakfast of omelets, eggs, waffles, fries and bacon. In other programs, inmates learn how to connect with their children or become trained as pet groomers.

Photo by Diane Lederman/The Republican Ken Schott of Westfield, left, serves Timothy Mullen breakfast at the 9th annual Hampshire County Reentry Breakfast Wednesday. Next to him are fellow inmates Wayne Tasson of Pittsfield and Scott Henley Springfield. The inmates are in the culinary arts program.